Artist in residence at the Asia Culture Center
by George Hiraoka Cloke, CHASE funded doctoral researcher at SOAS University of London
My CHASE placement took the form of a research and artist residency at Asia Culture Center in Gwangju, South Korea. The ACC is a prestigious international arts and cultural exchange organisation which positions itself as Asia’s largest arts centre.
When I was invited to take part in the ACC’s 2023 Residency Programme, CHASE were extremely supportive in allowing me to participate as my six month placement scheme. I joined Korean and international artist researchers in examining the cultural and geographic relationships of sound, listening and voice, and investigating the future of soundscapes in urban environments. As a sound artist and musician undertaking a more traditional written thesis at SOAS, this “practice-as-research” approach was a new and exciting challenge for me.
During the placement, I engaged in a varied workshop programme featuring prominent sound studies scholars and artists discussing urban noise pollution, decolonising sound archives, data sonification and acoustic ecology. I took learnings from this structured programme to deliver an research grounded artwork for an art exhibition at the conclusion of the placement.
My final project “Earth Is All Melody” took the form of a speculative soundscape of a future city: celebrating community, multi-species interconnection, sustainability and listening reciprocity. I combined field recordings of nature and cityscapes, interview clips, environmental research and electronic music to create this sonic world. I collaborated with environmental researchers, K-Pop musicians, Korean science fiction writers, disability rights campaigners and urban planners, listening to and incorporating their visions for a more sustainable and inclusive future. I also worked with a Korean Sign Language interpreter to visually communicate the soundscape through KSL: encouraging the listener-viewer to attune themselves to diverse perspectives, languages and voices.
The placement really highlighted to me how skills and learnings from a traditional thesis can be recontextualised and reappraised in a cross-pollinating art environment. Before the placement, I had broadly assumed that the participants from contemporary art backgrounds would be aesthetically assured and technically proficient, whilst my theoretical background and research skillset would offset my inexperience in exhibition. Surprisingly, I discovered that the greater point of divergence with my practice-based colleagues was the secondary or ‘soft’ skillset we cultivate during a PhD programme and CHASE training workshops. Skills such as critical thinking, cooperation, administrative preparation, self-management and intellectual risk really helped me overcome the various challenges of an intercultural artistic placement.
I am so grateful for the support of CHASE in enabling and encouraging me to pursue my own placement opportunity. I would highly recommend all CHASE scholars not only consider the wonderful placement partners advertised by CHASE, but seek out new organisations congruous to their individual interests. The opportunity to collaborate with so many inspiring people in an intercultural context has been a life-changing and life-affirming experience, helping me to understand where my strengths and expertise lie, and revitalising my professional motivations as I enter the final stages of my PhD and consider future career plans.